The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting-off the heads of fish and of the kind comprising a frame with conveyance means comprising holding means which for each fish comprise a saddle carried by a conveyor for supporting the body of the fish and a support carried by the same conveyor for supporting the head of the fish for transport of the fish bodies and the heads crosswise with respect to the longitudinal direction of the fish at a head cutting-off station comprising two rotating knives, one of which serves for providing a cut extending from the back of the fish behind its head and inclined inward and rearward towards the tail of the fish, and the other of which serves for providing a cut extending from the abdominal side of the fish and inclined inward and rearward towards the tail of the fish, said knives being arranged with their circumferences closely ajacent each other.
An apparatus of this kind is known from WO 87/05188. According to this prior art the knife providing the cut extending from the abdominal side of the fish and the motor driving this knife are pivotal about an axis extending generally parallel with the direction of movement of the conveyor which carries the fish through the head cutting-off station. The motor is by means of a connecting rod and a pivot arm connected with a rocking lever provided with a cam disc. When a saddle cooperates with the cam disc of the rocking lever and the knife referred to is pivoted so as to provide a cut extending more than 180.degree. around the spine of the fish. The pivoting of the knife also permits the support supporting the head of the fish to pass through the cutting-off station.
According to the present invention the head support is pivotally arranged with respect to the corresponding saddle in such a way that the head support is pivotal from a position for supporting the head and to a position which allows the passage of the holding means past the knifes of the head cutting-off station. Hereby a far more simple structure of the apparatus is question may be obtained because the pivoting of the motor according to the prior art referred to above and the means necessary therefor may be avoided.